Port Chester Council For The Arts Hosts Summer Plays

A scene from the 2012 Port Chester Council for the Arts LawnChair Theatre production of "Much Ado About Nothing." This year's performance will be a "Mad Men" inspired production of "The Taming of the Shrew."Photo Credit: Courtesy of Anne Brady

The opening show will be a Youth/Teen Theatre production of "Legally Blonde: The Musical." Directed by Julie Colangelo with musical direction by Cindy Moore, the play tells the story of Elle Woods, a sorority girl who attends Harvard Law School to prove herself. The production stars Port Chester residents Kim Maguire as Elle and Luke Glockenberg as Professor Callahan, with Michael Mastroianni of Pelham as Emmett Forrest and Joshua Thomas of New Rochelle as Warner Huntington III.

The show will be performed July 19 and 20 at Rye Country Day School. Tickets are $12 for the general public and $10 for seniors and children under 12.

The PCCFA and the cast and crew of "Legally Blonde" will be supporting the breast cancer fund-raiser "Go Blonde, Go Short or Just Go Pink" from July 14 to 28. Donations will be accepted at all performances and on July 21 there will be a "ponytail drive" at Magnolia's Salon in Greenwich from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Cancer survivors and those who donate ponytails will receive a free make-up application. For more information and to make an appointment to donate a ponytail, call 914-403-7909.

A cast of 87 will take part in the Children's Theatre production of "Annie, Jr." Telling the story of little orphan Annie in New York in the 1930s, the production is directed by Colangelo with musical direction by Moore. Christina Ledesma of Rye Brook stars as Annie.

The play will be performed at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. on July 26 and 27 at Rye Country Day School. Tickets are $12 for the general public and $10 for seniors and children under 12.

The PCCFA's LawnChair Theatre Shakespeare production will celebrate its eighth season with a "Mad Men" inspired production of "The Taming of the Shrew." The classic Shakespeare play about a man trying to marry off his two daughters will be set in the early 1960's. The play stars Port Chester residents Julie Thaxter-Gourlay as Katherine and Larry Reina as Baptista, Kathleen Nicholas of Rye as Bianca and Kevin Patrick McGuire of Danbury as Petruchio. The play is directed by Mat Young and produced by Carin Zakes and Peter Green.

The show will be performed Aug. 2 in Rye Town Park, Aug. 3 in Crawford Park in Rye Brook, Aug. 4 in Bedford Village Memorial Park, Aug. 8 and 9 in Lyon Park in Port Chester, and Aug. 10 in Pine Ridge Park in Rye Brook. All performances will be at 5:45 p.m. Suggested donations are $20 for the general public and $15 for seniors and children under 12. In keeping with the "Mad Men" theme, there will be a 1960's-style trivia game show in the intermission.